For those of you who are nodding off or have transitioned from the NFL to more appealing fare, here’s a brief recap of the much-anticipated release of the College Football Playoff.
Average final score: 36 winners, 17 losers.
In four games, not a single game was closer than 10 points, and even that made me feel worse.
This bold new experiment was supposed to bring more programs from more parts of the country into the loop in a large regional sport that has been dominated by about a half-dozen teams for the past decade.
Instead, we’ll take another 10 days to find out if “more” actually means more, or if more just means a few weeks of what we just saw before we get to what we had before. It was a title that said only they had a realistic chance of winning.
One of the things that felt like a success was that the stands were full at all four stadiums – Texas, Notre Dame, Penn State and Ohio State.
“I think college football did this right,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said after the Longhorns beat Clemson 38-24 in front of a packed house in the most exciting game of the weekend. “This was very special as it critiques what’s happening in our game right now, the idea of home playoff games in a 12-team format.”
TV ratings will paint a more complete picture, especially with the decision to go head-to-head with two NFL games that went down to the fourth quarter.
The quarterfinals take place over the New Year’s holiday, where we’ll get a clearer idea of not only who could take the title, but also whether the structure of the CFP is as good as it could be. Matchups (and issues related to all matchups):
Fiesta Bowl, December 31, no. 6 Penn State vs. No. 6 3 Boise State: Rules say the four highest-ranked conference champions must receive a first-round bye, so this is what we get. Penn State is a worse seed but is a 10 1/2 point favorite over the Mountain West Conference champions. Boise State has the nation’s leading rusher in Ashton Jeanty. Penn State is probably bigger and faster at every other position.
Peach Bowl, January 1, no. 5 Texas vs. No. 4 Arizona State: See above for thoughts on breakups, potential mismatches and pairings that might have made more sense had they come sooner. Texas is a 13 1/2 point favorite. But the Big 12’s Sun Devils are the closest thing to Cinderella in this tournament. We’re in decided territory starting November 2nd and have two very entertaining players in quarterback Sam Leavitt. Cam Scatebo is back.
Rose Bowl, Jan. 1, No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 1 Oregon: If the rule makers decided to reallocate the bracket after the first round to give Oregon a game against the highest-seeded team, that would mean It would have been something like this: Anyway, confrontation. But do we really want a quarterfinal rematch of the best game in college football this season, Oregon’s 32-31 win over Ohio State in October?
Sugar Bowl, Jan. 1, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 2 Georgia: Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck could be out for the season after injuring his elbow in the SEC title game, according to reports. The selection committee was supposed to take injuries into account in the rankings, but may not have had enough information at the time to make an informed decision. Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Georgia won its second national title by beating Notre Dame in the 1981 Sugar Bowl.
The transfer portal is (thankfully?) scheduled to close on December 28th. That means the steady exodus of title hopefuls will not seep into the headlines as they head to football’s Elite Eight.
But this whole setup is awkward. Arizona State has lost 12 players since the portal opened Dec. 9. Tennessee lost 11 men. The most notable departure was Penn State backup quarterback Beau Pribula. Whether or not many of these players were on the field (or not, which is probably why some left) seems almost beside the point.
For decades, playing to win a championship has been considered the north star of every elite athlete. Or so we thought. There’s a lot of money available, and it’s not hard to criticize players trying to maximize their earning potential in the new world of college football endorsements.
“I think everyone who loves sports understands that this is a unique time of year,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. “I’m not in charge of that. Do you think you need to find a way to handle all the processes you have now? Or is it in the game but need to find a better calendar? Yeah, I think that would definitely be best for the game.”
There are another 28 bowl games remaining that have no bearing on the national title. Perhaps the best matchup will be December 28th when Heisman winner Travis Hunter and Colorado face BYU in the Alamo Bowl.
Nothing particularly big here, but there is a message being sent.
Colorado has two first-round draft picks on its roster in Hunter and quarterback Sheder Sanders, the coach’s son. Normally they wouldn’t find themselves anywhere near this game due to fears that injuries can derail pro prospects.
But they will play. Coach Deion Sanders has been criticized primarily for being the face of the transactional, money-driven NIL era. But his ability to manipulate his best two players to find meaning in the game without risk is old-fashioned and antithetical to the chaos of the transfer portal.
“It’s not just a ball game where we go and have a good Christmas and exchange gifts and all that stuff,” the coach explained. “No, we want to go there and play Buffs football.”
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